Ireland take on No.1 ranked team in the World in the Stadium this Friday
Team Ireland is gearing itself up for the visit of the No. 1 ranked boxing nation in the world at the National Stadium in Dublin on Friday.
Ireland and Kazakhstan are slated to go head-to-head on March 14th at the home of Irish boxing.
The international is being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the official opening of the National Stadium, the first purpose built boxing stadium in the world, for the 1939 European Championships.
Kazakhstan claimed two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the 2013 AIBA World Elite Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The medal haul saw the Central Asian powerhouses finish in No.1 position in the medals table at the 100-nation tournament.
Ireland finished in joint 6th spot with Brazil and Uzbekistan in Almaty. Jason Quigley, the first Irish male boxer to reach an AIBA Elite final, and Joe Ward won silver and bronze, marking the first occasion that Irish boxing claimed two medals at the same World Elite Championships.
Irish head coach Billy Walsh is an admirer of what Kazakhstan achieved at the 17th edition of the AIBA World Elite Championships since Havana 1974.
Joe Ward with Irish coaches Billy Walsh and Zuar Antia at World Championships 2013 in Kazakhstan
“Topping the medals table at the World Championships speaks for itself. From number one to number ten in all weight classes they are strong, he said.
“Like ourselves they are building toward the Rio 2016 Olympics. We had two very good and productive training camps with Kazakhstan last year.”
Cuba and Azerbaijan took part in one of those training camps with Ireland and Kazakhstan in Almaty just before the World Championships and Walsh highlighted an outstanding statistic.
“That training camp yielded 13 of the 20 finalists at the 2013 World Elite Championships,” he added.
“Eight of those guys won gold. The four nations, including ourselves, that took part in that training camp finished in the top six in the medals table. It was a quality camp.”
The Ireland and Kazakhstan squads will be confirmed shortly. Both nations will also meet on Sunday on a St Mary’s BC hosted show in Newross, Wexford.
Tickets prices for Friday’s international: €10 for adults and €5 for children.
